Republican Outrages

Responds to Reports that White House Will No Longer Entertain Questions from Democrats

For Immediate Release:

November 7, 2003

Contact:Stacey Farnen202-225-3130

WASHINGTON – House Democratic Whip Steny Hoyer (MD) released the following statement today in response to a news report in today’s Washington Post that the Bush White House will “not entertain any more questions from opposition lawmakers,” effectively preventing “Democrats from getting questions answered without the blessing of the GOP committee chairmen.”

WASHINGTON, DC – House Democratic Whip Steny H. Hoyer (MD) lambasted the Republican FAA Reauthorization conference report on the House Floor today – particularly the absence of a prohibition of privatizing air traffic control towers, which was included in the original House and Senate bills. The following is Rep. Hoyer’s statement as prepared for delivery:

“Mr. Speaker, the Republican leadership has turned what should be a bipartisan achievement into a partisan travesty.

WASHINGTON, DC – House Democratic Whip Steny H. Hoyer (MD) today released the following statement today criticizing Republicans for failing to include the privatization prohibition in the FAA Conference Report, which was in both the House and Senate passed bills:

WASHINGTON, DC – House Democratic Whip Steny H. Hoyer (MD) lauded the passage tonight of a Motion to Recommit the FAA Reauthorization Act to the conference committee as a clear rebuke to the Republican leadership, which fundamentally altered the legislation in conference after it passed the House 418-8 and the Senate 94-0 in June. The Democratic Caucus unanimously voted for this Motion, which passed by a vote of 407 to 0:

Nearly three months after House and Senate conferees hurriedly agreed to a four-year, $59.2 billion reauthorization of the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), the legislation is still mired in a largely partisan dispute over privatization of airport control towers.

Republicans Show Once Again They Don’t Want Private Air Traffic Control Towers in Their Districts

For Immediate Release:

October 16, 2003

Contact:Stacey Farnen202-225-3130

WASHINGTON, DC – House Democratic Whip Steny Hoyer (MD) today released the following statement in response to a press report in Aviation Daily that House Aviation Subcommittee Chairman Mica is going to remove air traffic control towers in Republican districts from the privatization list in order to buy off votes for the FAA Reauthorization Conference Report:

Congressional Democrats plan to continue pressing the White House for an independent investigation into how an undercover CIA officer's identity was revealed, and will hold closed-door talks with the officer's husband to further their efforts.

Democratic leaders condemned the disclosure of the name of the CIA officer, who is the wife of former Ambassador Joseph C. Wilson IV, a prominent critic of Bush's Iraq policy.

Republicans say no need for special counsel

For Immediate Release:

October 1, 2003

Contact:Sean Loughlin

CNN

WASHINGTON (CNN) --Reports that the White House leaked the name of a CIA operative -- the wife of an administration critic -- have sparked an intense, if predictable, furor on Capitol Hill: Democrats are demanding an independent investigation, while leading Republicans say the matter, though serious, is being overblown.

Democrats say the White House is going after critics. House Democratic Whip Steny Hoyer of Maryland compared the alleged move to the "Nixon White House enemies' list." But Republicans say Democrats are merely looking for political advantage.

WASHINGTON – House Democratic Whip Steny Hoyer, Rep. James Oberstar (D-MN), Ranking Democrat on the House Transportation Committee, Rep. Peter DeFazio (D-OR), Ranking Democrat on the Transportation Subcommittee on Aviation, John Carr, President of the National Air Traffic Controllers Association, and Jeremy Yahn, an experienced Air Traffic Controller, held a press conference this afternoon in opposition to Republican attempts to privatize air traffic control and weaken air safety. The following is Rep. Hoyer’s statement as prepared for delivery:

Goal of Reforms in House Gives Way To Tough Tactics Party Once Criticized

For Immediate Release:

July 26, 2003

Contact:Jim VandeHei and Juliet Eilperin

Washington Post

Nearly 10 years after winning control of the House by vowing a fairer and more open Congress, Republicans have tossed aside many of the institutional reforms they promised, increasingly employing hard-nosed tactics they decried a decade ago, according to numerous lawmakers and scholars.

Among the reforms championed by an earlier generation of House Republicans, and subsequently dropped or weakened: term limits for rank-and-file members as well as committee chairmen; stricter ethics laws; and greater power for individual members and the minority party.